(Pictured above: This team from Perth and District Collegiate Institute took first place Friday at the 2016 Regional Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition in Smiths Falls. Pictured, left to right, are: Kaitlyn Schonauer, Ewan Jordan, Liam Ducharme and Nathan Duncan.)

The foursome of Liam Ducharme, Nathan Duncan, Kaitlyn Schonauer, and Ewan Jordan won the event with a bridge that handled 101 kilograms of load before breaking apart in testing. Their winning design supported nearly 45 kilograms more than their closest rivals at the event, held at Chimo Elementary School .

“I’m not absolutely sure, but I think it may be the strongest bridge ever entered by a team in this competition,” said John Ireland, a member of the Thousand Islands Chapter of Professional Engineers of Ontario, which ran the competition in partnership with the Upper Canada District School Board . “At 101 kilograms, it was pretty impressive.”

The PDCI team was one of 17 from six area schools to compete in this year’s event, which challenged students to research, design and build a Popsicle stick bridge, and then test it in a special, hand-cranked machine called BUSTER! that measured how much load each entry could take before breaking.

Another PDCI team made up of Grade 7 students Lincoln Bishop, Nolan Atterbury and Jonathan Miller came in second with a load of 56.2 kilograms, and Oxford-on-Rideau Public School students Kaden Perry and Taylor Hillier won third with a load of 44.6 kilograms.

Ewan Jordan, spokesman for the winning team, admitted to being pleasantly surprised by their performance.

“It feels really good to win,” said Jordan of the victory, which came with a trophy and a $50 team prize. “We did better than I thought we’d do and I’m really proud of everyone. We learned what makes a strong bridge, what parts of a bridge can hold up well, and how it’s really important to work as a team.”

The event allows primary, junior and intermediate students the opportunity to research, design and build their own bridges, and inspires students with the joy of engineering in hopes they will consider it in future as a career, said Ireland.

Working in a team environment also develops important skills useful in both the school and work world, he added.

“It develops social skills and the ability to work well and to collaborate with others.”